My Top Movies of '05

Everyone has published or announced on the radio their lists from 2005. This week the PJS had three different Top 10 Movies lists.

I don't go much for the artsy-fartsy stuff that sometimes makes these lists, you know, the ones where their total box office is $74.32 and they get nominated for 12 awards. Mine are more of the "common man" variety. Also, unlike many people's lists, these movies have to meet this standard: I had to see them to rate them. So all of these movies? I've actually seen them. So this eliminates quite a few movies from my list. I don't do Star Wars, so I purposely missed "Stith". Star Wars? Blah. Star TREK, now THAT'S science fiction. I have so far not seen Cinderella Man, but I want to. And there are several others in that category. But I won't sell out and fib. So my list is just made up of movies I paid money to see. By the way, why I haven't seen Wedding Crashers is beyond me. It looks like it's right up my comedic alley. Family Video, here I come.


Honorable mention: Sky High - Look, guys, sometimes, when you have a nine year old in the house, you see "kid" movies. You've gotta do it. This was the best of the bunch this year, because Kurt Russell was in it. 90 minutes of mindless entertainment that Miss Emily loved, and I liked. I enjoy when Russell plays the old glasses-wearing geek guy. He's done it quite a few times, and always pulls it off.

10. Hitch - Look, guys, you can't always go to guy flicks. You've gotta do date night once in awhile. And if you're gonna do date night, you can do much worse than having Will Smith and Kevin James together crackin' wise. When you see the 2004 list below, you'll see many more date flicks that I like. I'm not so macho I can't admit to liking chick flicks.

9. Bewitched - Wasn't great, wasn't bad. But there were some very funny moments, particularly the wink-and-nods back to the old series. I liked the way they did the plot, it was a neat twist on how to make it work. I still don't think Will Ferrell has done a movie approaching his hilarious run on SNL, but he still makes me laugh. Plus, as a kid, I loved Bewitched.

8. North Country - I wrote a post about this one a couple of months ago. Being from Minnesota, I always like seeing movies reference the home state. Charlize Theron was convincing, many of the supporting cast was more so. They pulled it off.

7. Bad News Bears - Billy Bob rules. The kids weren't as funny as the originals, save maybe for the kid in the wheelchair, but Thornton cracked me up like he always does (and like he did a couple years back in Bad Santa), and I always dig baseball movies...even the ones with Cubs in 'em.

6. The Interpreter - I like this a lot. Kidman was good, Penn was good, they were good together on screen (who'da thunk it?), and the story was very interesting. I thought this was an underrated movie.

5. The Longest Yard - Shut up, it was good. It was funny, it was stupid. Isn't that what it was supposed to be? Sandler was okay, but the WWE guys stole the show: Goldberg, Nash, Austin. Vince McMahon should be an acting coach. All his wrestlers know how to make a scene work. Nash was a riot. And they made Nelly look like a helluva ballplayer. If you didn't see it, rent it and sit back for two hours and let your need for gratuitious physical violence and jarring hits be satisfied.

4. Walk The Line - It was very, very well done. But I don't give it the rave reviews that everyone else does. Not that it was bad in any way, it just wasn't the "best movie ever" and the "most moving biography ever about the greatest artist who ever lived". I actually saw those quotes in print. Look, Johnny Cash was an awesome talent who may indeed actually have "invented" rock and roll. But he is getting much more credit in death than he ever got in life. The same people who wouldn't play his records on the radio for the last 15 years are professing his greatness now. Bottom line: he was one of the greatest artists of our time, and the movie was a nicely done version of his early years of fame.

3. Batman Begins - Christian Bale did a marvelous job. I liked his portrayal a lot. Only complaint I had was the electronic enhancements on his voice when he was Batman. Liam Neeson is outstanding in the movie. The Scarecrow didn't scare me, but the possibility of a sequel with The Joker, as the closing scene between Batman and Gordon (Gary Oldham) implies, could be awesome. Plus, I really liked the "explanation" of how Batman came to be. Oh, and Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were perfect in smaller roles.

2. Sahara - Indiana Jones with a funny sidekick. Matthew McConaughey is cool as hell, and I don't care if Diane thinks he's smokin' hot...she SHOULD think that. But Steve Zahn makes the movie for me. For those who don't like nudity, there isn't any, unless you count Matty's chest. Penelope Cruz stays dressed the whole time, the movie keeps moving, and it's just a trip.

1. The 40 Year Old Virgin - The funniest movie I've seen in years. And it's still pretty good on DVD, even with the lengthier scenes. Steve Carell is a kick, and Paul Rudd cracks me up in everything he's in.

All in all, '05 didn't compare to '04 in theatres. I had a much harder time narrowing my list to 10 in '04.

10. The Notebook - Oh my god, I bawled my eyes out. So did the 6'2", 300 pound black guy sitting across from me, one row back. Diane and I, and the big guy and his wife, were the last four in the theatre as the credits rolled, and we looked at each other and said "did it get you, too?" Two big dudes in a theatre making the napkin-to-tissue conversion. Wow, what a story. Yeah, I'm not ashamed. I still cry when we watch the DVD. I think Diane likes that. I hope she does. I hope she doesn't think I'm a puss or something.
9. Wimbledon - A love story in a sports movie, or a sports movie in a love story? Whatever, another "chick flick" date night story that was well done.
8. Collateral - So Cruise is a nut job. But he played a damn fine hitman. Jamie Foxx was outstanding, too.
7. King Arthur - Underrated, this was a very cool take on the King Arthur legend. Much grittier, muddier, and bloodier than past portrayals. I liked Clive Owen a bunch in this one. If you haven't seen it, you'll thank me afterwards. Check it out.
6. Dodgeball - More hilarity from Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller. Plus, it has Rip Torn in it. Love me some Rip.
5. Anchorman - Ferrell's best so far, plus it had Carell, Rudd, the hilarious David Koechner, Vaughn, Christina Applegate, and Fred Willard. Getting funnier every time I watch it.
4. Ray - I stil think Foxx did a better job at his capture of an icon than Juaquin Phoenix just did with Cash. Foxx was simply incredible, and the early Charles' music was amazing.
3. Meet The Fockers - I laughed just as hard as I did at the first one. Funny, funny stuff. DiNiro is a gem. I also enjoyed Hoffman and Streisand's wackiness.
2. The Aviator - As I've always been intrigued by the life of Howard Hughes, I couldn't wait to see it. I wasn't disappointed. He was an important figure in this country from the 20's through the 60's. Who else was that big of a deal for that long?
1. Fahrenheit 911 - The most talked about movie of that year, negatively or positively, and hence the most important movie of the year. I went and bought the 911 Reader afterwards, where Michael Moore backs up his assertions, scene-by-scene. Does he take artist liberty with some of his images, and some of his chronology? Yes. Does he lie at any point in the movie? I can't find any, and I've looked.

Here are some pretty good movies that didn't make the '04 list. I didn't have this problem with the '05 list:

The Incredibles - Good kid flick
Friday Night Lights - Billy Bob again, plus a drunk Tim McGraw. Country radio PD's are always interested in this stuff.
Ladder 49 - Phoenix did well, Travolta was good. For firefighter shows, however, I still prefer "Rescue Me" on FX with Denis Leary.
Shall We Dance - Is it a coincidence that after this Richard Gere/J-Lo ballroom dancing flick that the hit reality show of the next year involved Ballroom Dancing? Say what you want, it was kinda good.
Raise Your Voice - Great kid flick. Great message.
The Prince & Me - We have a thing called "the Princess collection". A collection of DVD's for Emily and Diane to watch together. I watch, too. I like this one.
Princess Diaries 2 - Ditto previous entry.
50 First Dates - Barrymore and Sandler were both entertaining in this one, a clever story.
Starsky and Hutch - Wilson & Sandler. Love it. Snoop as Huggy Bear was well cast, too. But he was too cool. The original Huggy Bear was a dork.